Maya Archaeological Ruins in Yucatan
If you are planning to travel to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, there are several famous and not-so-famous towns and villages of the Maya civilization you should not miss. Each of the sites in contributing writer Nicoletta Maestri's Maya sites of the Yucatan and Northern Maya Lowlands was hand-picked for its charm, individuality and importance.
The Yucatan peninsula is that part of Mexico that extends between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea west of Cuba. It includes three states in Mexico, including Campeche on the west, Quintano Roo on the east, and Yucatan on the north.
The modern cities in the Yucatan include some of the most popular tourist destinations: Merida in Yucatan, Campeche in Campeche and Cancun in Quintana Roo. But to people interested in the past history of civilizations, the archaeological sites of the Yucatan are unparalleled in their beauty and charm.
Map of the Maya Region. Base map adapted from one by GringoInChile
Exploring Yucatan
When you get to the Yucatan, you'll be in good company. The peninsula was the focus of many of the first explorers of Mexico, explorers who despite many failings were principal to recording and preserving the ancient Maya ruins you'll find.
- Fray Diego de Landa, who in the 16th century attempted to make up for his destruction of hundreds of Maya books by writing the Relación de las Cosas de Yucatan.
- Jean Frederic Maximilien de Waldeck, who moved to the Yucatan in 1834 and published Voyage pittoresque et archéologique dans la province d'Yucatan pendant les années 1834 et 1836, in which he propagated his notions of European influence on the architecture of the Maya
- John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, who published detailed drawings and photographs of the Maya ruins in Yucatan in 1841 with Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatán
Geologists have also long been fascinated by the Yucatan peninsula, at the eastern end of which are the scars of the Cretaceous-period Chicxulub crater. The meteor which created the 180-km (110 mile) wide crater is believed to have been responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs. The geological deposits created by the meteor impact of some 160 million years ago introduced soft limestone deposits which eroded, creating sinkholes called cenotes-- water sources so important to the Maya that they took on a religious significance.
Ready to start your own explorations?
Click on each of the names on this interactive map of the northern Yucatan in the Northern Lowlands of the Maya region to discover more about the ancient Maya sites.
Maya Sites in Yucatan
